Sanitary vehicle closet

ABSTRACT

A SANITARY CLOSET EQUIPPED WITH A RECOPTACLE HOLDING MEANS FOR POSITIONING A DISPOSABLE RECEPTACLE BELOW THE BOTTOM OUTLET OF THE CLOSET BOWL. THE DISPOSABLE RECEPTACLE IS REMOVED AFTER EACH USE THROUGH A CONDUIT BY CREATING A VACUUM IN A WASTE STORAGE RESERVOIR DISPOSED BELOW THE BOWL. A FLUSHING FLUID RESERVOIR PROVIDES A SUPPLY OF FLUSHING FLUID FOR CLEANING THE BOWL AFTER EACH USE, HOWEVER, DURING THE FLUSHING CYCLE, COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE BOWL AND THE WASTE STORAGE RECEPTACLE IS   BLOCKED SO THAT THE FLUSHING FLUID PATH BYPASSES THE RECEPTACLE AND CANNOT BECOME CONTAMINATED BY ITS CONTENTS.

Oct. 12, 1971 HOWARD 3,611,446

SANITARY VEHICLE CLOSET Filed May 28, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOII DURRELL U- HOWARD N Am, k UMJALW ATTORNEYS Oct. 12,1971 f n. u. HOWARD 3,511,445

v :SANITARY VEHICLE CLOSET Filed May 28, 1970 2 sheets-sheet 2 65 LID POSITION RESPONSWE g SWITCH CIRCUIT BREAKER OVERLOAD PROTECTOR *1 I VACUUM VALVE o ACUATOR BY PASS so e7 SWITCH B PUMP 7 I 2O SHUTTER POSITION sr l T E R RESPONSIVE SWITCH L J uwnwol DURRELL U. HOWARD BY #W, W

ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 4-10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sanitary closet equipped with a receptacle holding means for positioning a disposable receptacle below the bottom outlet of the closet bowl. The disposable receptacle is removed after each use through a conduit by creating a vacuum in a waste storage reservoir disposed below the bowl. A flushing fluid reservoir provides a supply of flushing fluid for cleaning the bowl after each use; however, during the flushing cycle, communication between the bowl and the waste storage receptacle is blocked so that the flushing fluid path bypasses the re ceptacle and cannot become contaminated by its contents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a sanitary closet and is particularly adapted for use in aircraft, boats, trailers, and other vehicles or portable units. The closet of this invention is of the type having a waste storage compartment which is periodically emptied, as for example, at the end of a trip. With the increasing emphasis on avoidance of pollution of streams and lakes, it is becoming mandatory in many localities to provide a closet for use on boats, camping trailers, and the like, which is so constructed as to prohibit absolutely the discharge of Waste material, and particularly human waste material, from such vehicles.

Although vehicle closets have been developed and are in use, as for example, in aircraft, which are of the flush type, and provide for the storage of waste material that can be removed from the closet, such closets of the prior art have numerous disadvantages. For example, in the closets in common use in modern day aircraft, no means is provided for separating the waste material from the flushing fluid with the result that the flushing water hecomes contaminated after only a single use of the vehicle. Even though such closets do supply some means for filtering the flush water, it is common for the filter to become at least partially clogged and for the flush water to become very quickly contaminated with the result that a very unsanitary and odorous conditon soon occurs. The Water is also very heavy, and such closets may require up to 30 pounds or more of water per charge. The latter also presents another problem in winter flights since in todays high altitude flights the outside temperature may drop 30 to 50 F.; with the closet generally mounted near the outer skin of the aircraft so as to provide direct access to the closet from outside the plane, freezing of the flushing fluid may occur.

Such closets are also very expensive and the removal of waste material often requires expensive treating equipment or extraction equipment which may not be available for the average user. Even if a suitable discharge area is found, the discharge and cleaning of such toilets is at best a messy and odorous experience suitable only to the strong of heart.

The present trend towards larger and more sophisticated aircraft involves the installation of multiple closets at various locations throughout the aircraft. One of the new jumbo aircraft is delivered with as many as 13 separate closets located in various locations. As can be Patented Oct. 12, 1971 readily appreciated, it is extremely time consuming and expensive to remove the waste from each of these separate closets from separate locations on the exterior of the aircraft. A single holding tank or waste storage area makes the waste removal problem much simpler and less expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the preferred embodiment of my invention, a central sanitary vehicle closet is provided with a closet bowl having a bottom outlet, and a receptacle holding means for positioning a disposable receptacle directly below the bottom outlet of said closet bowl. This disposable receptacle may be a paper cup, a sheet of paper, a plastic bag, or any other suitable disposable receptacle which may be quickly and easily inserted into the closet before use.

A closure means is operatively mounted directly below the outlet of the closet bowl for selectively permitting solid and liquid waste to pass from the closet bowl into the disposable receptacle when the closure means is open. A separate reservoir for flushing fluid is located in the lower part of the sanitary vehicle closet to store a cleansing and flushing solution which may be water, or water with a germicidal agent added to disinfect the closet bowl during the flushing operation.

After the closet has been used, the closure means is closed and flushing fluid is pumped from the flushing fluid reservoir to the bowl to rinse its interior surface. Because the closure means is continuously closed throughout the flushing operation, the flushing fluid flows from the closet bowl back to the flushing fluid reservoir and is prevented from passing into the disposable receptacle mounted below the closet bowl outlet.

Simultaneously with the closing of the closet bowl outlet, a vacuum means is energized in the waste storage compartment to draw the disposable receptacle, and the enclosed waste, through a conduit to a separate waste storage reservoir. This enables the complete separation of waste material from the flushing fluid to prevent the gross contamination of the flushing fluid as is currently the practice in many modern vehicle closets. The waste material is selectively carried away to a remote storage location thereby solving two problems inherent in todays modern aircraft. If a vehicle closet is mounted too close to the skin of the aircraft, the flushing solution may tend to freeze inasmuch as the temperature just outside the skin of the aircraft may be as low as to F. This remote storage location enables the designer of the aircraft to locate the sanitary closet throughout the aircraft for the convenience of the passengers and operating personnel. The remote storage location for the waste material also allows a selection point which may be serviced from the exterior of the aircraft thereby preventing any possible contamination of the aircraft from the cleaning and servicing of sanitary closets scattered within. This separate storage reservoir also allows the designer of the aircraft to place a plurality of sanitary closets around the aircraft and connect them to a single waste storage reservoir, thereby allowing the airplane service personnel quickly and efficiently to remove the waste material from the flight and place the system in a sanitary condition for subsequent use.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sanitary closet for use in vehicles or the like, which is particularly adapted for use in aircraft, boats, trailers, and other moving vehicles. The closet of the invention is provided with a separate waste storage compartment which is periodically emptied, as for example at the end of a trip, and will absolutely prohibit the discharge of waste material, particularly human waste material from the vehicle.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sanitary vehicle closet of the flush type which requires: a relatively small quantity of flushing fluid and recycles the flushing fluid for many flushes without appreciably contaminating the fluid.

It is another object of this invention to provide a sanitary vehicle closet for aircraft wherein a plurality of closets may be connected to a single holding area or waste storage reservoir to aid in the removal of the waste material at the end of the trip, quickly and efficiently, and restore the closets to a condition suitable for use on a subsequent trip with a minimal amount of service and treatment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of my sanitary vehicle closet and separate waste storage reservoir.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of my vehicle sanitary closet taken along section line A-A illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the shutter and the interconnection between the shutter and the cover.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram for the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of a plurality of sanitary vehicle closets arranged in a large scale jumbo aircraft with a single waste storage reservoir.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, an enclosed container is adapted to receive and store a flushing solution generally indicated by phantom line 11 in the lower portion of the vehicle closet. A lid 16 is illustrated in its open or up position to disclose a seat member 12, bowl 13, and bowl outlet 14. The outlet 14 is indirectly connected to conduit 15 which leads from the sanitary vehicle closet to the enclosed waste storage reservoir 17 mounted separately and apart from the vehicle sanitary closet. It should be understood that the separate waste storage reservoir 17 could be mounted within the enclosure 10 to provide a compact unit for use in boats, camping trailers, and portable closets for use on construction projects. In such an installation, it would be highly desirable to provide for a separate storage container 17 which could be removed from the sanitary closet enclosure '10 for recharging and cleaning of the closet.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the closet disclosed in FIG. 1, with the section taken along section line AA. Immediately below the outlet 14 defined in closet bowl 13 is an apertured annular member 18 which has defined therein a plurality of openings 19 which are located circumferentially around the outlet of the closet bowl. Shutter 29 is disposed immediately below the annular member 18 to close the outlet 14 during the flushing cycle.

During the flushing cycle, the flushing solution 11 is pumped by means of pump 20* through flexible conduit 27 to an annular space disposed around the upper periphery of closet bowl 13. Conduit 27 directs the flushingsolution in a tangential relationship to the closet bowl to cause the flushing solution to circulate circumferentially around the bowl during the flushing cycle. The swirling action of the flushing fluid thereby cleanses the bowl after the use of the sanitary closet and carries any waste which may be retained on the bowl surface through the open.- ings 19 defined in annular member 18 back to the fluid reservoir defined by enclosure 10. While some contamination of the flushing liquid results by means of the recycling operation, the accumulated waste is very small, and this small amount of contamination is easily compensated for by the-addition of proper germicidal or disinfective additives.

7 An annular guide member 23 is provided at the upper periphery of closet bowl 13 to define a guide or shield to prevent the flushing fluid swirling in channel 25 from rising upwardly out of the sanitary closet. Guide member '23 in effect directs the flushing solution downwardly into the bowl during the flushing operation.

During normal use'of the closet, shutter member (29 is operated to its open position, thereby allowing direct communication between the bowl outlet 14 and the disposable receptacle 24. Disposable receptacle 24 is supported by receptacle holder 26 which may be of frustoconical shape and mounted within the enclosure 10 to support the receptacle and align it with the outlet 14. A separate conduit 28 connects the receptacle holding means to suction valve 30-. Suction valve 30 is operated by actuator 31 between an open and closed position. When the valve is in its open position, a suction maintained in waste storage reservoir 17 creates a pressure differential within conduit 28 and the container holding means 26 to withdraw the disposable container through conduits 28 and 15 into the storage reservoir 17. At the same time, a small amount of flushing fluid is siphoned from siphon tube 312; into the receptacle container to cleanse the holding means, and the connected conduits. In this manner, a small amount of flushing fluid is withdrawn from the enclosure 10 during each flush operation and assists in cleansin the interior of the conduit.

As was pointed out previously, container 24 may be a disposable paper cup, a plastic cup, a sheet of plastic or paper, or a plastic bag. The container is adapted to be easily inserted into the receptacle holding means 26, and may be constructed so as to permit it to be partially collapsed for travel through conduits 28 and 15. In the preferred embodiment, a disposable paper cut with flutes 24a is utilized. These cups may be stored in a standard stack container, and the flutes 24a allow the cup to compress easily when suction is applied in the intermediate conduit 28.

Suction valve 30 may be a reciprocating valve or pivoting valve depending upon the space requirements and the configuration of container 10. In operation, the valve actuator 31 is energized at the same time the pump 20 is energized, to withdraw thereby the disposable receptacle 24 while the closet bowl 13 is being cleansed.

In a system, having a single flushing toilet, the valve actuator 31 and suction valve 30 may be eliminated, thus, the suction generating means located in reservoir 17 may be rendered active simultaneously with pump 20 to provide for the removal of receptacle 24. However when a plurality of closets is connected to a single reservoir, a constant air pressure differential must be maintained in reservoir 17; therefore, the intermediate conduit 28 must be sealed from the conduit 15 to prevent the premature removal of receptacle 24 when the closet is in operation. Thus the suction valve 30 is normally closed and is open only for a short period of time to remove the receptacle 24 from the holding means 26.

The suction present in conduit 15 results from the exhausting of air from the storage container 17 by means of air pressure differential means 101. This air pressure differential means may be an electric blower, a pneumatic cylinder, or the waste storage reservoir 17 may be connected to the vacuum lines present in a motorized vehicle such as an automotive bus or aircraft. Jet aircraft utilizes vacuum power for a wide variety of applications and a suitable line connecting the storage reservoir with the vacuum system may be utilized in place of air pressure differential means 101.

It is also intended that the air pressure differential could be generated in jet aircraft by the atmospheric differential present at the aircraft operating altitude, that is 25 to 35,000 ft. The storage reservoir 17 would be maintained at atmospheric pressure and the pressurized interior of the aircraft would provide the differential necessary to move the receptacle from the closet to the waste storage reservoir.

It should be understood that in place of a vacuum, a positive air pressure differential can be utilized to drive the waste receptacle 24 through the conduits 28 and 15. In this embodiment, a plurality of high pressure air jets would be mounted between the receptacle holding means 26 and the shutter member 29 to drive the waste receptacle through the conduits 28 and when a positive air pressure means is activated.

Vacuum valve 30, and its actuator 31 are operated by control signals received from the controller 103 and the shutter control mechanism generally designated as 102 in FIG. 2. The shutter control mechanism 102 is actuated by means of the master control circuitry provided in controller 103. An appropriate source of electric power is provided through line 104 and the air pressure differential means is connected to the system by means of control wire 105.

The operation of shutter 29 is generally illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Referring to FIG. 3, the shutter 29 is rotatable about a pivotable support member by means of the shutter control mechanism 102. The details of this mechanism are not relevant to the invention disclosed herein, but may take the form of the operating mechanism disclosed in US. application Ser. No. 848,221 filed on Aug. 7, 1969, or may take the form illustrated in US. Pat. 3,418,664. The shutter control mechanism 102 is coupled to the lid 16 by means of a crank arm 45, which in turn rotates shaft 47 to operate the shutter control mechanism. This may be a mechanical linkage, an electric linkage, or electro-mechanical depending on the service requirements of the vehicle closet. Normally speaking, the shutter is locked in the closed position during the flushing cycle to prevent the flushing fluid from passing into the waste receptacle 24 during the flushing cycle. This is accomplished by actuating solenoid 51 whenever the pump 20 is operating. When solenoid 51 is so energized, its armature is depressed, thereby urging member 53 downwardly to butt against the end of a strip 55 which is secured to the top surface of the shutter member 29. It can be seen that this butting action will prevent the opening of shutter 29 whenever solenoid 51 is energized.

FIGS. 2 and 3 also illustrate one manner in which a suitable electrical input may be provided to initiate the actuation of pump 20 and vacuum valve 31. Thus as shown in FIG. 3, a micro-switch is provided which is closed by member 55 on the upper surface of shutter 29 whenever the shutter is in its closed position. The contacts of the micro-switch 60 may be connected in series to the pump motor to insure that the operation of the pump can occur only when the shutter is closed. The purpose of this of course is to guard against the possibility that the pump will open and pump the flushing fluid, with the shutter 29 open, into the remote waste storage receptacle 17. Of course, the contacts of micro-switch 60 are normally in the closed position since the shutter 29 is normally closed as a result of the fact that the lid 16 is normally in the lowered position. For this reason, the contacts of switch 60 cannot be used to initate operation of the flushing cycle. Instead, a lid position responsive switch 62 is provided which is operatively connected to lid 16 to initiate operation of the control circuitry hereinafter disclosed and described in FIG. 4 upon closure of the lid. This lid position responsive switch 62 may be mounted on the lid itself, or be mounted under the seat 12 to be actuated by the weight of a user. It may also be mounted within the shutter control mechanism 102 and operated by shaft 47 in response to the position of lid 16.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating the manner in which the various electrical components are interconnected so as to produce the desired operation of the sanitary closet. Thus, energy is supplied from the terminal to a circuit breaker overload protector 65 whose function, of course, is to guard against short circuits or other conditions causing an electrical overload. If suchoverload occurs, the circuit breaker interrupts the circuit; thereafter the circuit breaker can be reset by actuating a rest button incorporated therein.

The lid position responsive swtich 62 which may be actuated by the lowering of lid 16 is schematically shown in FIG. 4 as controlling the application of energy to timer 66. The time interval demarcated by this timer is preferably chosen to correspond to the desired length of the flush cycle and may, for example, be in the order of twelve seconds. Throughout the interval being demarcated by timer 66 its associated contact 67 is closed to thereby condition the energization circuitry for the application of electrical energy from terminal However, the circuitry can only be energized when the shutter positionresponsive switch 60 is closed as it is whenever the shutter 29 is in the closed position. Thus, upon the initiation of timing by timer 66, the circuit is energized but only if switch 60 is also closed to ensure that the shutter 29 is in the closed position. It will be noted that whenever the circuit is energized, electrical energy is also applied to the shutter locking solenoid 51 which then hold shutter 21 in the closed position throughout the pump operating cycle as previously described.

When the energization circuitry is energized, pump 20 will be actuated as will be the vacuum valve operator 31, and in certain embodiments of the system, the air pressure differential means 101. Thus the pump will be actuated during the interval demarcated by timer 66. Simultaneously, the valve actuator 31 will open vacuum valve 30 to allow the vacuum maintained in conduit 15 to withdraw the waste receptacle through conduits 28 and 15 and into the waste storage receptacle 17. The air pressure differential generating means 101 may be operated continuously in the event multiple sanitary closets are employed, or in the event that only a single closet is connected thereto, the air pressure means may be actuated simultaneously with pump 20 and the vacuum valve 30. As was pointed out earlier, in the latter embodiment wherein only a single closet is employed, the vacuum valve 30 may be omitted, and an intermittent pressure differential generating means employed.

FIG. 4 also illustrates the use of a by-pass switch 71 which may be used to energize the circuitry independently of timer 66 and independently also of the condition of the shutter position-responses switch 60. Such by-pass switch 71 may be located on an electrical control panel positioned on an outside wall of casing 10 and is highly useful for checking operation of the system, for troubleshooting, and also for pumping out the contents of the flushing fluid reservoir when it is desired that this fluid be removed and replaced with fresh fluid. Thus, when an attendant lifts the lid 16, the shutter 29 is opened as is customary. If now the by-pass switch 71 is closed, pump 20 will be actuated directly even though shutter 29 is now open, and the fluid in the reservoir 10 will now be flushed through the bowl 13 directly into the waste storage reservoir receptacle 17 thereby quickly emptying the reservoir and conditioning the toilet for receiving a supply of fresh flushing fluid.

FIG. 5 discloses a diagramatic representation of a modern jumbo jet with a plurality of restrooms 107- 114. Each of these restrooms is equipped with at least one sanitary closet as disclosed in FIG. 1. A plurality of conduits generally indicated by connect each of the sanitary closets to a common waste storage receptacle 116. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, a single manifolding conduit could be utilized to connect the various sanitary closets with the waste storage receptacle 116 rather than the plurality of lines generally designated by 115. Thus it can be seen that the removal of accumulated waste is easily and readily accomplished from the exterior of the aircraft without the necessity of conveying containers of waste material through the cabin of the aircraf after the aircraft has landed.

What is claimed is:

1. A sanitary vehicle closet comprising:

a closet bowl having a bottom outlet,

receptacle holding means for positioning a disposable receptacle below the bottom outlet of said bowl,

a waste storage container for receiving waste at least at times from said bowl,

7 removal means for removing said receptacle to said waste storage container after waste has been deposited therein,

and flushing means for directing a flushing fluid from a storage reservoir into said closet bowl contemporaneously with the removal of said receptacle to said waste storage container, said flushing means providing a return flow for said flushing fluid to said storage reservoir bypassing said receptacle holding means and said disposable receptacle.

2. A sanitary vehicle closet as claimed in claim 1 wherein said removal means further comprise a conduit means connecting said receptacle holding means and said waste storage container, and means for providing an air ressure differential in said conduit for moving said disposable receptacle through said conduit.

3. A sanitary vehicle closet as claimed in claim 2 which further comprises means for creating a vacuum in said waste storage container.

4. A sanitary vehicle closet as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises closure means operable between open and closed positions for selectively permitting solid and liquid waste to pass from said closet bowl to said disposable receptacle while said closure means is in its open position.

5. A sanitary vehicle closet comprising:

a closet bowl having a bottom outlet,

receptacle holding means for positioning a disposable receptacle below the bottom outlet of said bowl,

closure means operable between open and closed positions for selectively permitting solid and liquid wastes to pass from said closet bowl to said disposable receptacle,

removal means for selectively removing said disposable receptacle after waste has been placed therein, a reservoir for flushing fluid, flow control means for forcing said fluid from said reservoir to said bowl to flush said bowl contemporaneously with the removal of said receptacle, and

means for providing a return flow path for said flushing fluid from said bowl to said reservoir bypassing said disposable receptacle when said closure means is in its closed position.

6. A sanitary vehicle closet as claimed in claim 5 which further includes a waste storage reservoir, and wherein said removal means further comprise a conduit means connecting said receptacle holding means and said waste storage reservoir, and means for providing an air pressure difierential in said conduit for moving said disposable receptacle through said conduit.

7. A sanitary vehicle closet as claimed in claim -6 which further comprises means for producing a vacuum in said waste storage container.

8. A sanitary vehicle closet as claimed in claim 5 which further comprises a hinged lid operable between raised and lowered positions for selectively covering the upper end of said bowl, and means responsive to the position of said lid for operating said closure means.

9. A sanitary vehicle closet as claimed in claim 8 which further comprises mechanical coupling means interconnecting said lid with said closure means for closing said closure means when said lid is lowered and for opening said closure means when said lid is raised.

10. A waste collection and removal system for a vehicle comprising:

a plurality of sanitary vehicle closets, each closet com prising a closet bowl having a bottom outlet, a receptacle holding means for positioning a disposable receptacle below the bottom outlet of said bowl,

a single waste storage container,

removal means for selectively removing a disposable receptacle positioned in any one of said plurality of sanitary closets to said single waste storage container after waste has been placed in said receptacle,

flushing means for directing a flushing fluid from a storage reservoir into said closet bowl to flush said bowl contemporaneously with the removal of said receptacle to said waste storage container, said means providing a returning flow for said flushing fluid to said storage reservoir which bypasses said receptacle holding means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,671,906 3/1954 Potts 4142 3,452,368 7/1969 Couper 4-142 3,405,409 10/1968 Bennett 4-10 X 3,416,164 12/1968 Ekrut 4-142 3,422,985 1/ 1969 Rinehart 4-10 X 3,520,003 7/1970 Shaw 4-115 X 3,538,517 11/1970 Cornish et al 4-10 HENRY K. ARTIS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

